Thursday, February 28, 2013

If you are looking for
something enjoyable to do this Saturday, we would like to invite you to an
event that is sure to be both fun, and will benefit the needy children served
by HSP. Elizabeth Ferrari, President of Kreative Kreations, a company that puts
on birthday parties for children, is hosting a fundraiser for our Children’s
Birthday Project at Flight 112 Wine House located at 112
W Park Avenue in Elmhurst.
The event will run from 3:00-5:30pm,
and cost $25 per person. The event will include appetizers, wine, and a raffle.
The money raised by this event will go to providing exciting and memorable
birthdays to needy children whose families are unable to afford birthday gifts
or parties. If you wish to attend, please RSVP with Elizabeth Ferrari at
630-674-2631 by tomorrow evening (March 1st.)

Elizabeth’s
company, Kreative Kreations, provides creative, themed parties and events for
children like Cake Decorating parties, or American Girl themed birthday
parties, so our Children’s Birthday Project is right up her alley. All 900
needy children served in our project receive a 20-25 lb. birthday box full of
6-10 new toys, 6 books, numerous fun “filler” gifts, and a “party in a box”
which contains all the necessary supplies to throw a memorable birthday party.
The funds collected from this fundraiser will go directly to sponsoring needy
children in this project, so if this sounds like a project you are interested
in supporting, and are free on Saturday, please consider attending!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Humanitarian Service
Project would like to send a heart felt thank you to FT Cares, the charitable
wing of the Wheaton financial
services firm First Trust. FT Cares donated a considerable amount of household
items for our seniors in the Senior Citizen Project that will definitely be put
to good use. Lisa Weier, an employee of First Trust and a representative of the
foundation, dropped off a bundle of brand new items such as pillows, several
nice microfleece blankets, towels, silverware, and 2 coffee makers.

Lisa was also nice enough to sit
down with us and let us know more about FT Cares. Lisa told us that First Trust
has been engaged in supporting the needy of the community for quite some time,
and now that FT Cares has recently gained 501(c) 3 charitable status, they are
finding new ways to serve those in need. We at HSP are very happy to learn of a
new group devoted to providing relief for the needy.

Again, we wish to thank FT Cares
for their very thoughtful donation. The cozy items they have provided will
certainly allow the needy seniors in our program to live more comfortably.
There are many items that these seniors could use in their lives to help make
their lives easier, but they simply cannot afford them. If you, like FT Cares,
would like to help provide for the needs of seniors in this way, some of the
most requested items by the seniors include food processors, microwaves,
toasters, electric blankets, and small area rugs. If you have an item you’d like
to donate, please call HSP at 630-221-8340.

Those of you who are regular
readers of our blog may remember last week when we told you about some
fantastic service projects and donations done for the sake of the needy seniors
and children we serve by St. Raphael Church of Naperville. Well, as it would
turn out, the generous parishioners at St. Raphael were not done wowing us at HSP,
because earlier this week, they made another fantastic donation. We would like
to thank St. Raphael for running a toy drive and donating many marvelous, new
toys for the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project. When you keep in mind that, just last week
St. Raphael graced us with their spirit of giving by wrapping Children’s
Birthday Project gifts and putting together several personal Care Kits (full of
items like lotions, conditioner, shower gel, soap, and shampoo) for the Senior
Citizen Project, everyone at St. Raphael sure has been busy recently.

HSP volunteer Jeff Marker tuning one of the guitars donatedby St. Raphael.

The new toys were dropped off at HSP’s
Center on Monday by St. Raphael member, Margaret Huck, whose minivan was
completely stuffed with unique and fun gifts like large teddy bears, miniature bowling
sets, games, big wheels, and even guitars! The kind heartedness of St. Raphael
will most certainly bring countless memories to the kids who receive these
wonderful gifts. Again, we wish to thank everyone at St. Raphael for there
continued thoughtfulness!

Monday, February 25, 2013

Humanitarian Service Project
would like to give a very special thanks to our friends at the Congregation Etz
Chaim in Lombard. For the past 9 years, HSP has been the lucky recipient of the
congregation’s annual Food Drive. The congregation runs this Food Drive every
year to remind themselves of the importance of giving to those in need. This
great support and help continued yesterday, when Jeff Marker an HSP volunteer,
picked up 10 large Garbage Bags that were completely filled with boxes of Macaroni
and Cheese from the Congregation Etz Chaim. These tasty donations will be
distributed to the Needy Children enrolled in the Feed the Kids program during
the upcoming summer months.

Feed the Kids is a Program
that serves 100 families, or about 400 children, with 175lb boxes in each of
the summer months June, July, and August. Each 175lb box includes:

Fresh
fruits & vegetables (15 varieties)

Frozen
meats (7)

3
loaves of Pepperidge Farm Bread

And
non-perishables (3-6 boxes).

These boxes are created to
ensure that these Needy Children will receive the nutrition they need, even
when school is not in session. Macaroni and Cheese is a great food donation
because kids love it, it is simple to prepare, and of course it is deliciously
filling. We again would like to thank the Congregation Etz Chaim and their
continued support to help us serve the needs of needy families.

Friday, February 22, 2013

HSP
would like to take this opportunity to spotlight an upcoming event that is sure
to be both fun and do a lot of good in the community, the Naperville Junior
Woman’s Club Fashion Show! This is a major fundraiser for the club which is
very active in serving the needy of the community, and will directly benefit HSP
as the chosen charity of the Naperville Junior Woman’s Club’s Community
Improvement Project. The event will be held on April 20th, from 10am-3pm, at Drury
Lane in Oakbrook.

To celebrate that this is the
Club’s 40th Fashion Show, the theme of the event is Four Decades
through Hollywood. The event will
include a silent auction, a raffle, lunch, a professionally produced fashion
show, and an after party. The show promises to be a fun, exciting affair, and
will directly assist HSP’s efforts to
alleviate the burden that poverty places on the needy seniors and children we
serve. If you are interested in attending the event, tickets are now available!
For more information, or to purchase tickets, check out the event page on the
NJWC website: http://www.napervillejuniors.org/FashionShow.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Yesterday,
Humanitarian Service Project received a very exciting visit from our friends at
St. Raphael Catholic Church in Naperville. Over the weekend, the members of the
church engaged in a Parish-wide “Day of Service” in which they would
participate in a number of different service projects at different stations. We
at HSP were thrilled to have one of the areas of service devoted to wrapping the
gifts for twenty five of the needy children served in our Children’s Birthday
Project. With each of the children receiving 6 new books and 6-10 new toys,
this means that the Parishioners at St. Raphael wrapped between 300 and 400
gifts through this project alone.

However, this was not
the only wonderful service St. Raphael provided for the impoverished children
and seniors we serve. When the wrapped gifts were dropped off at our Carol
Stream Center yesterday, we were pleasantly surprised that HSP was the focus of
not one, but two of the areas of service for the Day of Service. St. Raphael members created 40 personal care
packages for needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. They clearly had fun
in making these nice, handy kits, as all of them were individually decorated
and included lotions, conditioner, shower gel, soap, and shampoo. Other great
items dropped off by St. Raphael Church included a donation of wrapping paper,
some much needed toilet paper for the seniors, and even new gifts for needy
children.

This outpouring of support from St.
Raphael will help HSP fulfill a number of different needs of the impoverished
seniors and children in our programs. We wish to thank everyone at St. Raphael,
who participated, particularly Anne Hillebrand, Director of Service Ministry at
St. Raphael, who coordinated the event.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Humanitarian Service Project would like
to give a huge thanks to the Chamberlain College of Nursing for helping HSP
wrap an extremely generous amount of gifts yesterday for the Children’s
Birthday Project! This uniquely large group of 18 volunteers arrived yesterday
ready to go and rearing to wrap! Also thanks to Kenya Truman, an employee of
Chamberlain College of Nursing, for organizing this event!

This volunteer bunch was certainly a joy
to have here at HSP, they brought great attitudes to the task. Not only was it
fun because they were helping out a good cause, but to spice things up the
group decided to make a friendly competition out of the wrapping extravaganza. All
in good fun, this game sincerely helped out HSP and all of the children who
will be receiving the wrapped gifts for their birthdays. With two hours of hard
work, this group wrapped all the gifts for 16 needy children in our Children’s
Birthday Project. In each bag there are now 6 new books and 6-10 new toys beautifully
wrapped, so these volunteers were certainly busy. We really want to thank this
awesome group for doing such a great job wrapping these presents and helping
make more birthday wishes come true!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Humanitarian Service Project would like to send out a warm thank you
to our friends at Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva. Lisa Gades, a
member of the congregation, was kind enough to drop off the Unitarian
Universalist Society’s donation of 121 Senior Care Kits today at HSP. Every 3 months HSP delivers Senior Care Kits to the 121 needy seniors
enrolled in our Senior Citizen Project; this is to assure that the seniors have
the basic necessities needed in order to live comfortably. Thanks to this
donation, plus recent past donations HSP is ready to supply our seniors with Senior Care
Kits for the first half of this year. We wish to thank the UUSG, for helping us
get this much needed leg up, to fulfill the needs of these very deserving
seniors.

Each of the Care Kits provided by UUSG contained:

·Envelopes

·Paper

·Eye drops

·Baby powder

·Hand wash

·Tupperware

·A Picture
frame

·Puzzle book

·And, to
sweeten the deal, a variety of candies.

Unitarian Universalist Society
of Geneva has continues to help and support HSP. Just last month they also gave several “Party In
a Bag” donations, for the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project.
Thank you again Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva for your continued
generosity and support, it is greatly appreciated.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Today at the
Humanitarian Service Project we had the pleasure of celebrating something very
special, the birthday of Jan Thompson, HSP’s toy room supervisor. Jan’s
birthday was actually yesterday (what an appropriate birthday for such a loving
lady!) Jan works so hard upstairs in our toy room, to make sure all of the
needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project have a memorable birthday, so
we thought it was only appropriate to give Jan the recognition she deserves on
her special day!

All of HSP’s staff
and interns got together to celebrate with Jan for lunch today. With our café
decked out with pink and purple decorations, and the guest of honor even
receiving a wand and a tiara, it was quite the fun event. Through her work here,
Jan has made not only a positive impact in the lives of the needy children we
serve, but in the lives of HSP’s staff as well. We know that Jan has also
forged special bonds and friendships with HSP’s supporters (i.e. many of you,)
so please join us in wishing Jan a fantastic birthday!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

It’s Valentine’s Day,
and everyone here at the Humanitarian Service Project is happy to see our
generous supporters getting into the spirit. On top of the wonderful
Valentine’s Day themed gifts we have already shared with you on this blog
previously, we wanted to take this opportunity to recognize another group who
has taken the time out this holiday, to spread love to the needy seniors in our
program. HSP would like to thank the Ambassador Club of Forest Glen Elementary
School, for making 30 “care kits” for our seniors, including special handmade
Valentine’s for each one. This wonderful club seems to be making this loving
project a tradition, as this is the second year in a row they have made these
kits for the needy seniors HSP serves.

Each of these kits contains a special message to
a senior from one of the students in the club, via a handmade Valentine. An
example of the heart-warming notes inside these cards cays, “Everyone has a
life story. That is what you are loved for. I hope you have a special
Valentine’s Day. I will be thinking of you.” On top of these lovely valentines,
each of the kits contains both health items, and special treats for the seniors.
These items include; Kleenex, lotion, Chap Stick, tea, hot chocolate, health
supplements, pain relievers, and candy. Again, we wish to thank the Forest Glen
Elementary Ambassador Club for these beautiful care kits. They will surely both
warm the hearts of the impoverished seniors who receive them, while also
providing for their needs.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Here at the Humanitarian
Service Project we are always looking for more support to help us better
fulfill the needs of the impoverished seniors we serve. One of our biggest
needs at the moment is Paper Products. These items consist of Toilet Paper,
Paper Towels, and Facial Tissues to
assist in making the daily lives of the needy seniors in DuPage and Kane
Counties better.

With the small amount of money that these
seniors receive each month, once they have taken care of their major bills,
there is not always enough money left for them to purchase basic necessities
such as Paper Products. This is where HSP comes in! We are constantly trying to
rally different Groups like Schools, Churches, and Businesses to participate in
things such as Paper Drives.

As of right now, in April
of 2013 we will have run out of all Paper Products to give out to our Needy
Seniors. This Is Where You Come In! We are looking for as many People or Groups
as we can to Conduct and Participate in Paper Drives so we can make sure that
these Low Income Seniors will not go without these Basic Necessities. With the
collaboration of HSP and Volunteers we can make it possible to Alleviate the
Suffering of these Needy Seniors.

If you would like to run a
paper drive to help out HSP and needy seniors of DuPage and Kane Counties
please contact us at (630)-221-8340 or by email at hsp@humanitarianservice.org.
Thank you and we really hope to hear from you soon!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Humanitarian Service Project would
greatly like to thank an extremely kind woman, Gail Hudgins, for going above
and beyond granting 5 of our needy senior’s wishes. This past Friday, Gail
donated 5 grocery carts to 5 of the seniors in our Senior Citizen Project.
These carts had just been placed on the Senior Citizen’s Wish List and without
hesitation Gail fulfilled those wishes. This was such a sensational surprise
for these seniors not only because the carts are so useful but because of how
quickly they received them. Tish Jensen, Gail’s sister who is also no stranger
to HSP, dropped off the grocery carts this
past Friday, and they were delivered the very next day! It had worked out
perfectly that this Saturday was our scheduled monthly delivery day for the
seniors. These shopping carts will surely make life easier, especially since
some seniors have mobility problems and have difficulty carrying their
belongings. Donations like this really go such a long way, so another big
thanks to Gail Hudgins from HSP!

If you are looking to donate, any
donation, whether big or small equals a big help. Some of the items most often requested by the
seniors are food processors, microwaves, coffee pots, toasters, bathroom
towels, electric blankets, and small area rugs. If you only have a couple of
dollars to spare other great donations include detergent, stamps, and rolls of
quarters. If you would like to donate any of these items please contact us at
(630)-221-8340 or by email HSP@humanitarianservice.org.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Humanitarian Service Project would like to deliver our
deepest gratitude to Divine Savior Parish of Downers Grove for sharing their
gigantic hearts and contributing such a large donation of “Boxes of Love.” Nearing
Valentine’s Day, Divine Savior Parish truly has shown their love and kindness
to the needy seniors served by HSP. Better than a box of chocolates this
holiday, Divine Savior Parish donated a much more purposeful box to each one of
our 121 seniors in our Senior Citizen Project.

These “Boxes of
Love,” are a sweet idea based off of the Senior Care Kits that are sent out to
the seniors every three months. Each “Box of Love,” that was provided by Divine
Savior Parish contained:

·Kleenex

·Toilet paper

·Shampoo & conditioner

·Soap

·Mouthwash

·Lotion

·Toothpaste

·Chap stick

·Plus green tea & hot chocolate!

In addition to these wonderful “Boxes of Love” that
they give each year, Divine Savior Parish is a huge supporter of HSP. They do
so much for our programs, particularly our Christmas Offering and the Senior
Citizen Project. Thank you again Divine Savior Parish! Plus a big thanks to those
who picked up these lovely gifts Mike Tortorello and Rich Patera!

Friday, February 8, 2013

Humanitarian Service
Project would like to thank a group of eleven volunteers from UPS Supply Chain
Solutions in Carol Stream, who volunteered their time to help us sort fresh
produce for the needy senior citizens served by our Senior Citizen Project.
This wonderful group spent two hours today helping us get all the fresh produce
ready that will be delivered to the 121 needy seniors in the project, as part
of our February Delivery Day tomorrow. Fresh produce is an integral part of the
100 lb., nutritious grocery package HSP sends to each of these seniors every
month, and it is only thanks to the generosity of groups like UPS that we are
able to continue to provide these fruits and veggies for the seniors. UPS has
been a steadfast supporter of HSP, and regularly volunteers their time as
produce sorters. Again, we want to thank them for taking time out of their busy
days to help us reach out to seniors in need.

On our Delivery Day each month, volunteer drivers deliver
100lbs. of groceries to each of the 121 needy seniors in our project. The
packages contain not only 15 varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables, but
also, 7 frozen meats, 6 bags of non-perishables, 3 loaves of Pepperidge Farm
bread, 2 bags of paper products, personal care items, and a gift from each
senior’s “Secret Pal.” Volunteer produce sorters, like these thoughtful and hardworking
UPS volunteers, are just one of the important groups that help HSP make this
happen every month. There are so many ways to get involved to assist HSP in
making a big difference in the lives of needy seniors in our community. If you
would be interested in lending a hand, you can learn more about these
opportunities on our website: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/monthlydelivery.html

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Today was an exciting day for HSP, as we were lucky enough to be represented in the DuPage County Farm Bureau’s annual “Race Against Hunger.” HSP was the chosen charity of Luanne Triolo Newman, the Executive Director of the Carol Stream Chamber, who ran in the race, hosted at Jewel-Osco in Carol Stream. For the event, Luanne and her challenger Dr. Bill Shields, superintendent of School District 93, were given 10 minutes to run through Jewel’s aisles supermarket sweep style, to collect as many items containing corn, wheat, or soy beans, (the staple crops grown by Illinois farmers) as possible. Luanne really put the lead out and snagged up a huge haul of almost 400 items! In what was, according to the DuPage County Farm Bureau, one of the closest races they’ve ever held, Luanne was declared the winner of the event. The items she and Dr. Shields collected, were purchased by the Farm Bureau, and donated to HSP and Neighborhood Food Pantries (Dr. Shields’ chosen charity.)

This is the 15th year the DuPage County Farm Bureau has held this race to coincide with National Food Check Out week. HSP was thrilled to be Luanne’s chosen charity, and the food she collected will go very far in meeting the needs of impoverished seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. When it was all collected in one place, the bags of food Luanne secured for HSP, more than covered the floor to one of our cargo vans. We wish to thank both Luanne and the DuPage County Farm Bureau for their hard work and generosity.

Every month HSP delivers 100 lbs. of nutritious groceries to the 121 needy seniors enrolled in our Senior Citizen Project. HSP also runs the Feed the Kids program in the summer time, and the Christmas Offering during the holidays, which provide much-needed food to needy, local families. As such, food donations are always a huge help around HSP. If you would like to get involved, you can learn more at HSP’s website here: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Humanitarian Service Project would like
to sincerely thank the Junior League of Kane and Dupage Counties for wrapping
so many gifts for the Children’s Birthday Project. These wonderful women donated
such a considerable amount of time in order to help these needy children in the
program.

The Junior League of Kane and DuPage Counties has
a project called “Done in a Day” in which the group participates in short-term,
hands-on volunteer projects that assist local charities. As part of this
project, this past Friday the Junior League of Kane and Dupage Counties held a
“Wrapping Party,” where the group wrapped 10 bags worth of presents for the
Children’s Birthday Project. Each bag contains presents for a needy child, and,
with the amount of gifts in each birthday bag, this group did a ton of
wrapping! These gifts include 6-10 new toys, 6 books. The wrapping was done
beautifully which will make the children appreciate the gifts that much more! After
the wrapped gifts are returned to HSP’s center, additional items are added to
create each child’s special Birthday Box including, stuffed animals, smaller
“filler” gifts, school supplies, coloring books, and party supplies in the form
of a “party in a box kit.”

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Today at Humanitarian Service Project we
are super excited to welcome two new interns! These two interns come to us from
ElmhurstCollege and heard of HSP’s
intern Program through past HSP interns!

First we have David Patterson. He is a
Political Science major, who hopes to one day work for a non-profit
organization or the state department. David was drawn to HSP because he likes
the idea of helping out others. When he was younger he participated in Boy Scouts
and eventually became an Eagle Scout, so David is no stranger to volunteerism. David
will be creating HSP’S “Senior Updates” by interviewing and taking note on the
progress of the needy seniors served by our Senior Citizen Project. David will
be a great fit for writing the “Senior Updates” as he enjoys writing and
reading making the match a perfect fit.

Emma

On the flipside, we have our other
new intern Emma Ewing. She will be working with the numbers side of things, seeing
that she is an accounting intern. This internship will help pave the way for
her dream of becoming a successful accountant. Emma was attracted to the
atmosphere HSP has to offer as a not-for-profit organization, and with a
smaller work environment is excited to get to know everyone. Emma has
volunteered a lot in the past, due to her involvement with Elmhurst College’s
Greek life. She is a sister to 80 girls in her sorority Sigma Kappa. As head of
finance in her sorority, and as a member of the accounting and finance club at
Elmhurst, Emma will surely be a big help here at HSP!

Join us here at HSP in
welcoming these two new interns to the HSP team!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Today, at Humanitarian Service
Project, we had some very special visitors from KinderCare in Addison. In all,
there were 50 youngsters that stopped by HSP and participated in a tour of the facility.
During the tour the kids were able to learn and physically see what goes on at
HSP.

When breaking down the idea of the
Children’s Birthday Project to the KinderCare group, they seemed ecstatic to
know that the needy kids in the program would be receiving such a wonderful package
for their birthdays. Their eyes lit up in the toy room, but the icing on the
cake was when they found out that the birthday boxes would also contain
birthday party decorations.

Along with their smiles, the children
brought 5 large boxes of food and paper products, and wonderfully handmade
Valentine’s Day cards that will be going to the seniors in the Senior Citizen
Project. This coming Saturday will actually be the next delivery day for the
Senior Citizen Project, so the timing couldn't have been more perfect for this
visit. Humanitarian Service Project would truly like to thank the kids from
KinderCare for their kind donation and the fabulously crafted cards; we hope to
see you here again soon!

Friday, February 1, 2013

Earlier this week,
Humanitarian Service Project had the pleasure of attending the College
of DuPage Service Learning Fair. HSP
was represented at the fair by Assistant Executive Director, Kristin Maxwell,
who spoke to many COD students about volunteering at HSP
this semester. These students are participants in COD’s Service Learning
program, in which students spend 20 hours volunteering their time with a
community organization. HSP has been a
community partner with the program for a few years now, and every time, we have
had wonderful volunteers help in a myriad of ways. HSP is looking forward to
hosting service learning students again this semester.

The service learning volunteers
will be involved in a number of different projects around HSP which include;
community outreach, office support, and lending their hands in our warehouse preparing
for our Senior Citizen Project Delivery Days, and in our Children’s Birthday
Project toy room. Many of the students expressed enthusiasm in specific
projects, which will allow them to utilize the skills they are developing in
class to help us serve the needy seniors and children in our projects. College
of DuPage calls this type of
service a “win-win,” and we are inclined to agree. There have been a number of
our past Service Learning volunteers who have used their unique talents, to be
an immense help around HSP, and some continue to volunteer after their service
contract ends. We look forward to our continued partnership with the Service
Learning program!

Get Involved

About HSP

It is the mission of the Humanitarian Service Project to alleviate the pain and suffering that poverty brings to seniors and children in DuPage and Kane Counties, Illinois, without discrimination or exclusion for any reason.